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Bad Cats Don't Die
Episode 5, Season 6 of War. Enjoy <3 Bad Cats Don't Die The scent of blood was heavy on the air. Moonclaw dove between writhing masses of cats, hearing her warriors shriek as FireClan talons found them. Her only solace was the number of FireClan wails that clamored above them. This prison camp was small, but enough FireClan warriors were here to make this an important battle. An important victory, she thought, hopefully. The moon hung high in the sky and Moonclaw looked up at it. It was a slim crescent, a reflection of her claws, dangling in the sky like some kind of sign. As she often did when she was nervous, she found herself wishing on her cold namesake. Please, let me find her. She's all I've ever had. Please. Skidding into one of the smaller clearings, the ones her spies had told her Darkwillow was being held in, Moonclaw called, "Any FireClan, come out with your claws sheathed." There was a brief pause, then the sound of scrabbling. Moonclaw crouched, claws sliding into the dirt. A FireClan cat, his green eyes like chips of ice appeared from a den, dragging a wriggling cat beside him. Moonclaw felt her heart slow as her sister's wide amber eyes found her. Her black pelt, shadowed by the night, was glistening with blood. Her mouth opened in a yowl, but the FireClan cat pined her down, smirking savagely. "Let her go," Moonclaw commanded. Moons of battle and training was the only reason her voice remained so steady. Darkwillow looked up at her, with wide eyes begging her to run. Darkwillow was only older than her by seconds. She was supposed to be the mature one, the protector, the hero. She was never supposed to leave Moonclaw. But she did. Moonclaw felt frozen to the ground, too slow, too stupid, too late to save her sister as the FireClan cat, almost delicately, reached her sister's neck with his claws. As he tore her throat open. As her blood stained the ground. As her sister, her world, her other half was stolen from her. By a FireClan cat. The moon gazed on as Moonclaw shrieked. It watched passively as she commanded her squad to kill all the surviving FireClan cats, as she bit open throats and tore open stomachs. And then, soaked in blood, she returned to her sister's body, crouched before it, and cried. It's not often that things happen so fast, so...the same that it feels almost useless repeating them. Do you know how many little camps there are, scattered around FireClan? How many queens and elders live there? How many we had to try desperately to save before Moonclaw could get to them, shoving them towards their Main? How many we couldn't save? Oh StarClan, there were so many... It's been a moon. A moon since we were teamed up with Moonclaw, told to go to FireClan and make them suffer. Not in so many words of course, but that's what's happened. We walk for a few days until we come across some unlucky camp and then...utter carnage. None of these little rural camps are big enough to pose even the slightest threat to...well, to anyone. Sometimes Moonclaw will swear that she scents another camp and we'll spend days walking around the forest, searching for a camp. Moonclaw scenting the air and sending out scouts and the rest of us praying that whatever camp she's imagining is either just that- imaginary- or invisible. The first time I felt my kits kicking, the first time I felt them moving around inside of me (which is the weirdest freaking feeling ever, I screamed a little) I was watching helplessly as Moonclaw slit some poor cat's throat. You can definitely tell I'm with kits now. Grayleaf tries to cheer me up by telling me that I'm lucky- I'm not some kind of waddling badger thing like most she-cats- but it doesn't exactly make me feel better. Especially since I get to be amongst WaterClan's finest, all sleek, graceful...skinny... Gorsefur gets more and more paranoid about having me in battle. Every time I just tell him it's not much of a battle anyways. That makes him brood for a while, but at least he stops being so anxious. Honestly, why can't toms be the ones to carry the kits? We're sitting around the prey pile. Oakclaw and Stormflight are fighting over a rabbit, Grayleaf is warning them about the threat of prey-poisoning, and Shadowsong is trying to convince Gorsefur to name one of our kits after her. Business as usual. "Gorsefur?" We all look up to see Moonclaw. Her cats usually keep to themselves. We're friendly with each other, just...heard to break the squad bonds I guess. "We're leaving in the morning. Orange Leaf, it's a pretty sizable camp, is near these parts. Good?" Gorsefur nods and Moonclaw disappears back into the shadows. I groan and put my head on my paws. "Anyone else terrified that she's sitting in the shadows listening to us?" "If she is, you're dead," Snowflight mutters. "She wouldn't be the only one," Oakclaw points out, releasing the rabbit. The force with which he was pulling on it recoils and the dead animal smacks Stormflight in the face. "What if she finds out about Snowflight and Shadowsong?" "I'm only half-FireClan," Shadowsong mutters. "How would she find out?" Stormflight asks, rolling his eyes. "She kind of was one of FireClan's top assassins you know," I point out. Stormflight slumps a little and Snowflight ducks her head. Whether with pride or shame I can't tell. "We can protect them," Gorsefur says. I look over at him. His golden eyes, usually bright, are dull and I reflect on what this past moon has done to him. Gorsefur's protective streak towards the helpless doesn't really acknowledge borders. There's a brief silence, then finally Snowflight stands. "I'm going to get some moss and then go to sleep. Night." She pads into the forest, a fading ghost. After a few moments, Shadowsong stands and follows her. Stormflight watches them with conflicted blue eyes. "Let them go," Oakclaw advises. The younger tom huffs a little and relaxes. "Brookfall, you should really eat a little more..." Gorsefur prods. I roll my eyes. Snowflight didn't cry. When you had simple rules like that, she found it was easier to abide by them. She hadn't felt this terrible when she lured Stormflight to Thundercloud. She hadn't felt this bad when she blackmailed Shadowsong into coming with her and Lionwing. She hadn't felt this bad when Lionwing...when Lionwing... Sinking into the leaves, Snowflight curled in on herself, trying to hold herself together. She heard pawsteps and a faint whisper. She didn't look up, "Go away Stormflight." There was no answer. She peeked up and didn't see anyone. Confused, but willing to accept it, she put her head back down. Once again, the sound of pawsteps on crunchy leaves came, this time from another direction entirely. "I'm not crazy," Snowflight muttered. "You keep telling yourself that." Snowflight looked up to see Shadowsong. The dark she-cat sat next to her, grooming a paw carefully. Snowflight was still getting used to this. Waking up and seeing those same amber eyes in a different face... Shadowsong didn't look up from her task, but she meowed, "You know, I felt terrible. When you guys told me I was half-FireClan. It wasn't something I could control. It wasn't something I could change. But I still felt like a traitor." "You didn't desert your Clan," Snowflight meowed bitterly. "You don't walk around with cats you should by all rights be killing and you don't betray your Clan every single second of your life." Shadowsong looked at her sadly. She wrapped her tail around her sister, "I kinda did though." "You got kidnapped, that's not really the same." "Oh please, I totally could have beaten you if I wanted." Snowflight purred and Shadowsong looked at her. "Better?" Snowflight nodded. "I think so. But..." "But...?" "But," she gritted her teeth, "If I see a chance to make sure Moonclaw doesn't come back from a battle...I'm going to take it." Shadowsong didn't say anything. Mornings suck. I used to love them, but apparently my kits are some kind of owl-cat hybrid. The result is that I dream about sleeping and when I'm awake, I'm consumed by wonderful thoughts of warm moss nests and closing my eyes. We're walking towards where Moonclaw thinks Orange Leaf is. We're technically supposed to be quiet and serious, but in usual fashion, Shadowsong is arguing with Stormflight and Oakclaw while Snowflight mutters about how stupid they are. Ah the bonds of friends. "Quiet!" Moonclaw stops and crouches, low to the ground. We all follow suit and Moonclaw waves her tail. Cherryfur or Cherrypelt or Scarletfur or whatever runs forwards. After a tense moment, she reappears. "Found it!" Moonclaw turns and Gorsefur pads over to her as the two squads merge together. "Alright. This camp is a little bigger, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The strategy we've decided on is to just go in all at once. The surprise and numbers will likely help more then a second attack from another side. Clear?" Everyone nods and, without another word, Moonclaw dives into the clearing. "A little preparation would've been nice," Oakclaw mutters, as we charge into the clearing. As it turned out, a little preparation would have been nice. A little scouting would have been a good idea. Maybe even just leaving Orange Leaf alone would have been a stellar idea as well. Do you know how awkward it is to run screaming into a camp, like the world's fiercest coalition of foxes only to stop because there's no one there? I mean, obviously I'm glad, but still. Awkward. "Where is everyone?" Stormflight asks, looking around. It's not just the main clearing or ay of the other clearings I can see surrounding us. The dens are empty, prey left scattered around half-eaten. "They knew we were coming," Moonclaw whispers. Gorsefur blinks, "But if they knew we were coming..." There's a battle-cry and our heads snap up. "Dirt." I whisper. "Retreat!" Gorsefur commands. "No!" Moonclaw glares at him, then looks at us. "Split up. We need to take out as many as we can." Gorsefur looks at her with wide, furious eyes, "There could be dozens of them! We don't-" "No time to argue," Moonclaw swiftly cuts him off. "Let's go!" She nods at Shadowsong and Hawkdive, then takes off. Shadowsong looks at Gorsefur, but follows Moonclaw. Gorsefur curses- even if he wanted to save our squad, he couldn't now. We have no choice but to follow Moonclaw's crazy plan. Gorsefur and I dart into a den. I see Snowflight shove Grayleaf into some bushes, then scaling a tree. Stormflight and Oakclaw pelt off with some of Moonclaw's cats. "This is such a bad idea," I whisper. "I kn-" There's a high-pitched wail, probably a she-cat. Either it's a FireClan cat or one of those ginger cats on Moonclaw's squad. I shiver. "What should we do?" Gorsefur asks me. I look at him quizzically. "Do you want to run, do you want to fight, do you want to start kitting as a distraction....?" I smack his shoulder and peer outside. No FireClan cats out there at least. "Let's try to see how many of them there are, okay?" Gorsefur doesn't answer and I look back, scared that something's happened. But he's just there, staring at me. "What?" "I'm glad," he whispers. "About what?" "I'm glad that some warriors came," he says, standing and padding past me. "At least now it's a fair fight." "I can fight!" "You can throw herbs at cats," Snowflight corrected. Grayleaf's face fell. "If I need you to bring someone back to life, I'll let you know. For now, stay here, would you?" Sulking a little, Grayleaf nodded. "I'll go try to find some herbs. In case...anything happens." Snowflight considered telling him no. But she saw the determined glint in his eye and sighed, relenting, "Be careful." The little medicine cat darted out into the woods and Snowflight turned, eyes narrowed. The way the camp had been so swiftly abandoned...the odds were that the Orange Leaf cats were hiding nearby. Unable to get away fast enough, but wanting to wait out the battle. She could find them. Help them get away. While your new Clan slaughters their warriors below... Shaking away the thoughts, Snowflight scented the air. It was mostly clean, but there was the faint scent of toadstools leading away from the camp. And beneath that, the scent of fear. Tracing the scent, Snowflight followed the winding scent, almost losing it once, until she reached a huge, overhanging bush. Under it, a pawful of queens, kits, and elders stared at her with wide eyes. One of the kits squeaked in horror, but one of the queens let out a little cry, "Snowflight? Snowflight? Is that really you?" Snowflight nodded, feeling like a puddle with too much water in it, spilling over the edge. Joy at being with her Clanmates. "I saw your demonstration at Main when I was an apprentice," the queen continued in a breathy voice. "You were my hero...StarClan are you here to help us?" "Yes," Snowflight whispered. "I am." I knew it. Moonclaw watched with narrowed eyes as Snowflight ushered the FireClan cats out of the bush, herding them away from Orange Leaf. The white she-cat had shown feeling at all the wrong times. She never took part in battles against the camps, she never talked about the battles, she never did anything to really ally herself with WaterClan. Moonclaw had been suspicious, but this was the topper. Snowflight is FireClan. Or at least, a sympathizer. Moonclaw was torn. Below, in the camp, FireClan warriors raged against her squad. But these FireClan cats were getting away. Finally, she turned back to Orange Leaf. She would let those rats get away, for now. They would turn up later and she would snuff them out. And, of course, she would make Snowflight pay. But for now, the battle called. I duck, with a shriek. In all the briefings and discussions, never once did Moonclaw mention that Orange Leaf is some kind of maze that some dumb FireClan cats decided to try and make a home in. Gorsefur and I just meant to look around, but the criss-crossing clearings and paths and dens soon had us in circles, and finally, the FireClan cats caught up to us. The FireClan she-cat who was attacking me over-judged her leap and crashes into a rock. Very intelligent. I spin and see Gorsefur is pinned to the ground, desperately dodging a warrior's blows as he struggles to free himself. I tackle the warrior and give him a cuff around the head and a bite on the shoulder. He disappears back into the labyrinth of the camp. "You okay?" I ask Gorsefur, panting. "Please don't tell our kits you had to rescue me when you were pregnant," he mutters, shaking his pelt out. My whiskers twitch and I start to say something, only to be interrupted by a shriek. Gorsefur's eyes go wide and I look at him, "Moonclaw?" "Let's go." "Thank you," one of the elders whispered, his voice the same timbre as a branch creaking in the wind. "I thought they were going to kill us," an older queen sniffled. "You're okay now," Snowflight soothed. "Go back to Main and stay there. These patrols are going all around the border, so you'll be safest there." The elders and queens continued thanking her, even as she left. Feeling a little happier than usual, Snowflight ran back to the camp, hoping her presence hadn't been missed in the battle. She skidded to a halt above the ridge. In the small valley, she could see the FireClan and WaterClan cats facing off. She should get down there. But her paws were rooted to the ground and she couldn't force herself to move. Snowflight looked up to the other side of the camp, at the sun that was descending swiftly in the sky. It would be dark soon. Where would they be then? Dead? Safe, in a bush somewhere? On their way back to WaterClan? Marching on? As she mused, the sunlight blurred for a moment. Snowflight narrowed her eyes, seeing a faint silhouette on the other side of the ridge. Unconsciously, she took a step forward. The sunlight nearly blinded her, but she forced herself to stare. The cat had golden or ginger fur. There was no other way it could glow that way in the sun. Snowflight swore she saw a glimmer of amber eyes. But the thing that stood out most was the three scars that slashed down the cat's face. "No," Snowflight whispered. As though the cat heard her, it disappeared, down the other side of the ridge. Snowflight sank to the ground, heart pounding. But you're dead. Somehow, miraculously, we find the main clearing again. The remaining FireClan cats are there, as well as the others from our Clan. Apparently Gorsefur and I were the only ones who got lost. Lovely. Gorsefur and I slip up beside Oakclaw and Stormflight. Oakclaw's sides are slick with blood and Stormflight has a jagged scar tracing down his cheek. "You okay?" I ask. They nod, eyes narrowed on the scene in front of us. I guess it really should have been the thing I noticed first. But it wasn't. Moonclaw lies, splayed on her side, blood leaking out of a ragged hole in her side. I remember when Shadowsong was almost killed by Thundercloud and I gasp in horror. The lead FireClan cat is sneering at us, "Get out of here, Fishfurs," she taunts. "Because from this point on, you'll get met with this resistance. No more killing kits and elders for you, you sick little dirtfaces." She flicks her tail and leads the other FireClan cats out of the abandoned camp. "They could have killed us," Hawkdive whispers. "She knows," Shadowsong growls. "She was making a point." Grayleaf, who somehow has a jawful of herbs and a paw swathed with cobwebs, is leaning over Moonclaw. We crowd around him and he splits the various leaves and roots on the ground and glares up at us, "I can't really do my work if it's going to be a party." We all scoot a little away, though none of us are eager to leave. We watch Moonclaw so intently you'd think we were watching a leader get a limb re-attached by magic. "Guys!" We all jerk our heads up, Stormflight and Gorsefur colliding. They both curse and the rest of us try not to laugh. Padding towards us is Snowflight. Fear is plain on her face and she's gasping for air. "What's wrong?" Shadowsong asks, immediately standing beside her half-sister. Snowflight shakes her head, "I think...I think I just saw Lionwing." Stormflight pads over to her, eyes wide. "No, it was probably just adrenaline from the battle. You were feeling..." he lowers his voice, "Guilty, and so you started...seeing things." "I'm not crazy!" Snowflight cries. "I saw her, scars and everything! She's alive! She's here!" "No," Shadowsong shakes her head, "I killed her. She's dead and gone and she can't come back." "I saw it," I vouch, though my pelt prickles with unease. I remember Oakclaw saying something when we first told everyone that Lionwing was dead. Something about how a bad cat is never really dead unless you see the body. And sometimes not even then. We never found the body. "It was her," Snowflight whispers. "We have to run, we have to get away because she's going to find us and-" "She's not alive." Shadowsong meows firmly. I'm proud at her for remaining so stable, at least, until I see the way her tail is lashing back and forth. "I killed her and it's over. It has to be. We've suffered way too much for it not to be over." Snowflight opens her mouth, but Grayleaf calls, "She's opening her eyes!" Everyone rushes over, Snowflight's insanity forgotten for a moment. Moonclaw stirs weakly, her silver eyes dim in the dying light. "I patched the wound and stopped the blood flow," Grayleaf explains. "And I don't think any of her organs were hit. So she should be okay." The brain of their squad, whose name I don't remember, tearfully touches her nose to Moonclaw's shoulder. "We thought you were dead!" Moonclaw purrs weakly. "Nope. I'm very much alive." Lionwing paced. Snowflight. Here. Dirt. Why couldn't it have been like the other camps, where it was some nameless squad, some random WaterClan cats she had no trouble, no feeling over killing. The Golden Ghost, FireClan cats called her. She flew in, saved the camp from the WaterClan marauders, then left, with not so much as a word. Snowflight. She abandoned you. You left you to die, with Shadowsong and the others. Lionwing's mouth twisted into a sneer. The river she was drinking from made her warped face even more distorted. Her scars rippled and her snarl was wildly fierce. With a curse, she shoved a rock in the water, blotting out her ruined reflection. This changes things. She sat, thinking. The plan never involved them. Not now, at least. She was just trying to help her Clanmates. But if they had come...surely that was a sign? A slow smirk spread over her face. Yes, it was a sign. It was time to take revenge. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics